Actress Kim Go-eun has opened up about the deep emotional and physical preparation that went into building the character Mo-eun for Netflix’s new mystery thriller “The Price of Confession.” Speaking at a café in Samcheong-dong, Seoul, on December 12, she detailed why she accepted the challenging role and the intense discussions behind shaping its direction.

The series follows Yoon-su, a woman framed for her husband’s murder, and Mo-eun, a mysterious figure feared as a “witch.” Their intertwined secrets create a dark, psychological narrative.

Kim Go-eun revealed that she first encountered an early version of the script long before the project was finalized. “I saw the script during a very early monitoring stage—not because it was offered to me. I remembered it later when I was filming You and Everything Else. When I heard Jeon Do-yeon sunbaenim was doing it, and the character still felt compelling to me, I asked for the role.”

Asked about the character’s evolution from the earlier draft, Kim Go-eun said many elements had to be reworked: “ Mo-eun originally leaned heavily toward appearing psychopathic. But when I stepped into the role, certain parts felt inconsistent. If she was truly psychopathic but later proven not to be, how would she behave when alone? Those contradictions created narrative issues.”

Kim Go-eun instead proposed a different psychological interpretation: “Mo-eun isn’t acting suspicious—she’s simply misunderstood. She has lost emotional function. She’s someone who’s been ‘emotionally castrated.’ Her past trauma needed to be clearly shown so viewers could understand why she’s like a person whose emotions have shut down.”

The hardest part, she said, was portraying someone who genuinely has “nothing to lose.” “Mo-eun would probably want to kill herself the most. That’s why no amount of suspicion or pressure affects her not from prosecutors, judges, or the public. She’s always in this state of ‘So what?’”

Her reactions were intentionally minimal and one-dimensional except for moments when fragments of her old self briefly surfaced, such as when she sheds tears after watching Yoon-su on the news.

Kim Go-eun further explained the controversial scene where Mo-eun strangles Gu Hee-young: “When she’s dragged away by inmates, she isn’t ‘releasing’ her emotions she just lets go. She’s thinking, ‘I should be the one to die.’”

Regarding Mo-eun’s ending, Kim Go-eun is convinced her character genuinely intended to take her own life: “Putting the pills into her cup noodles wasn’t a performance for Yoon-su. She really attempted it. Whether Yoon-su would come or not wasn’t guaranteed. She wanted to go to her father and younger sibling. She kept living only to fix what she had caused.”

One of the most talked-about aspects of her transformation is Mo-eun’s dramatic haircut. Kim Go-eun revealed it was her idea even suggesting an almost shaved style. “When I read scripts, appearance comes to me first. For A Muse, I suggested cutting my long hair to a bob. For this role, I felt Mo-eun shouldn’t hide behind hair. I actually wanted a near-buzzcut, but for everyone’s sake I cut it a little less. Still, I didn’t use clippers.”

She laughed when recalling reactions: “Everyone who saw it went, ‘Oh wow…!’ I’d never cut it that short before. I didn’t know the importance of down perms until now!”

Kim Go-eun emphasized that her concern wasn’t looking conventionally pretty, but looking right for the character: “I prefer when I look like the character rather than being visually polished. If the emotion reads well on camera, that’s what’s beautiful to me.”

To achieve Mo-eun’s gaunt, tense appearance, she avoided swelling and managed her body carefully: “I tried not to bloat. I didn’t eat dinner before shooting and avoided grains the day before. My goal wasn’t a number it was to appear visually dried-out.”

As Kim Go-eun continues to expand her acting range and deepen her artistic presence with every new project, public interest in both her career and personal reflections shows no signs of slowing. With her candid charm and steady professionalism, she remains one of the most closely watched actresses of her generation.

Sources: Daum